Win or Lose, It's How You Play
by Plus2-Minus1-Brilliance
Summary: Percy and the twins make a deal in an attempt to understand each other better. Can they manage to act like each other, or will it all be in vain? What will they learn in the process? Percy/Cedric, George/Oliver, Fred/Angelina.


_Win or Lose, It's How You Play_

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By: plus2-minus1-brilliance

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Chapter One - Going Down the Psycho Path

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"…of all the childish, immature, _pathetic_ pranks; you should be ashamed of yourselves!" Percy fumed.

"Oh, c'mon, Perce, it was just a joke," Fred tried, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, it's not like we would have _left you_ in there," George added, mimicking his twin's eye roll.

"You closed me in a sarcophagus! _With_ a corpse!" raged Percy. "How is that a _joke_? Who would laugh at that?"

"Well -"

"I'll tell you who would laugh at that - psychopaths, that's who! You two are clearly insane!"

Fred and George exchanged glances, eyebrows raised. They shrugged and looked back at Percy.

"Quite probably," they said.

Percy stared at them for a moment, his mouth working but no sound coming forth. He reached his arms out as if to strangle them, and they shook as he suppressed the urge to do so. Finally, he let out a strangled scream and stomped off. Fred and George watched him go, a frown forming on their identical faces.

"…I think we've finally broken him," George commented.

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Percy refused to talk to either of them for the remainder of their Egyptian holiday, no matter what the twins tried. Questions, jokes, even apologies went unheeded. One day, Bill suggested he was overreacting; Percy didn't talk to _him_ for the rest of that day, either. And when their vacation was over, and they'd made their way to Diagon Alley, Percy still hadn't uttered a word to Fred and George.

It just wasn't fair! The only person in his whole family that ever was on his side was his _mother_. Percy couldn't help being the way he was; he'd always been this way. He _liked_ being this way. Why couldn't his family just leave him be?

Percy had been the first to leave the table once dinner was over, wanting a bit of peace and quiet. He'd barely finished dumping all of Ron's belongings onto Ron's bed and laid down on his own, however, when someone knocked on the door. With a heavy sigh, Percy got back up and went to see who it was.

Standing on the other side, smiling pleasantly, were Fred and George.

"Hey, Perce, can we -"

Percy slammed the door closed in their faces and went back to his bed. Undeterred, the twins began knocking once more, this time tapping out a lively tune. After a few minutes of this, Percy snapped.

"Go away!" he shouted.

The knocking stopped, and Percy heard a theatrical gasp.

"Did you hear that, Fred! He's said something to us!"

"We're making progress, George!"

And with that, they opened the door and walked right in. Percy glared up at them, but they just continued to smile. Then Percy switched tactics - he picked up a book and turned his back on them, trying to focus solely on the text. Fred and George merely moved to the other side of the bed.

"Will you _please_ just talk to us?" Fred begged.

"Yeah, we miss you telling us off," George put in.

"We're _really_ sorry we upset you so much."

"We realize it wasn't our best idea, and we _beg_ your forgiveness."

"We also promise to never again try to shut you in anything, if you'll only start talking to us again."

"Even if it is just to yell at us some more."

There was a moment of tense silence as Percy thought this over, then, "Just because you won't shut me in anything, doesn't mean you won't just come up with something even worse."

"Ah, well we've actually had an idea of how to solve that problem," Fred informed.

Another, less tense, moment of silence passed.

"I'm going to regret this, but…what's your idea?"

"Well, it's clear that none of us really gets where the other is coming from, right?" said George.

"Yes, that seems obvious," replied Percy.

"And if we're ever going to get along, we _need_ to understand each other; do you agree?" asked Fred.

Percy nodded.

"So, we've got a proposition for you. For approximately five months, Fred and I will attempt to act…well, less like us and more like you."

Percy's eyebrows shot up. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like where it's going?"

"Probably because we'll only do it if you do the same. In reverse, of course," Fred answered.

"Yeah, don't want you acting _more_ like yourself," George added.

"So you want us to act more like each other in an attempt to understand each other…I don't think that would work at all. If nothing else, I am Head Boy - I can't be going around pulling pranks and skipping homework!"

"We're not asking you to do any of that; we realize it's your final year, and we don't want to mess you up," George assured.

"But _since_ it's your last year, this is really our last chance to do this! We really feel it'd be beneficial."

"I'm not sure…"

"Ah, but wait, there's more! If you do this -" began George.

"And do it _well_ -" added Fred.

"You'll get a prize at the end!" they chorused.

Percy cocked an eyebrow. "A prize? What, like a lifetime supply of Chocolate Frogs?" he said incredulously.

The twins rolled their eyes.

"Of course not, that'd be stupid," said Fred.

"Yeah, what do you take us for?" said George.

"Though that's a perfect example of why we need to do this," commented Fred.

"True," agreed George. "But no, not a lifetime supply of anything. It's something much more better!"

"Do tell," said Percy in a monotone, clearly afraid of what they had in mind.

"If, at the end, you've done your part satisfactorily, we promise to _never again_ play any sort of pranks, jokes, gags, etcetera on you," Fred and George declared, right hands over their hearts, left hands held up.

Percy was speechless. It was too good to be true! _Way_ too good…

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you? Just want to see if I'd do it, yes? See if you can make me dance on a string for you? Well you can forget that!" he said, and put his book back in front of his face.

"Percy, we _really_ mean it!" Fred argued.

"Yeah, we do! And we'll be doing it, too!" George added.

"And we won't even ask for something from you at the end, if you don't want!"

Percy lowered the book and glared up at them. "Do you _swear_ you're not just having me on?"

"Cross our hearts and hope to die," they replied solemnly.

"Very well, then. Give me tonight to think it all over, and I'll give you my answer in the morning. All right?"

"Great! And, as a sign of good faith, we _won't_ steal your Head Boy badge and change it to say 'Bighead Boy,'" said Fred.

"Sleep well!" said George, and the two of them left the room.

Percy set his book down and lay back on his bed. It definitely would be nice to never get pranked again. And actually getting along with Fred and George for once…Plus, if _they _understood him, maybe the rest of them would, too…Wasn't he just wishing his family would leave him be?

On the other hand, he did have responsibilities as Head Boy. Not to mention, he was aiming for a position in the Ministry, and this was his last year to prove himself worthy…Was the prize worth the risk?

As Ron came in, glaring at him when he noticed all his things had been moved, Percy sighed.

_If nothing else,_ he thought, _it'd be…exciting._

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Author's Note: I love this fic! I've had the idea _forever_, but could never get it started. Happens a lot with me, actually. But now, here it is! Isn't it great? I'm definitely excited to see where it goes!

Interesting thought…if Percy never loses his Head Boy badge, and therefore never accuses Ron of stealing it, would Harry still have gone to get Ron's rat tonic for him? Or would Ron have gone to get it and overheard his parents' in Harry's place? I'll let you decide for yourselves.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Get those reviews in now!


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